Berlin- “I feel ashamed because I am German… and for the sake of solidarity with you (the Palestinians), I will tear up this German passport just as the Israeli army tears up the land and people of Palestine.” This is what the young German man, George Ismail, said.
Tel Aviv Tribune Net reached the young German who confirmed, in a lengthy interview, that his method was to protest “German double standards towards the Palestinians,” even those holding a German passport.
Ismail talked about the story of his solidarity with Palestine despite the pressures, and how the Germans view the so-called Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the possibility of changing their positions with the influence of communication platforms and the rise of a new German generation.
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Why did you choose this method of protest?
Because I am personally shocked and deeply affected by the suffering and injustice that the Palestinians are currently exposed to. I have been an activist in a Palestine solidarity organization for a very long time, and a friend of many Palestinians, and the horrific stories I heard happening in the Gaza Strip affected me greatly.
I also have Palestinian friends who have German passports, and when they visit their families, for example in the West Bank, they are subjected to harassment by occupation soldiers at the border, without any regard to their passport.
The German Embassy does not defend German citizens with Palestinian origins when they are arrested in Israel, as a passport does not represent the same thing for everyone.
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In this context, the Christian Democratic Union Party (opposition) proposed obliging those seeking German citizenship to sign a commitment to recognize Israel, and there is a German state that has already initiated this obligation. How do you see that?
This is very bad. It is necessary to recognize the laws and obligations related to guaranteeing the rights of individuals and groups. When we talk about Israel, we are talking about a state that links its existence to suspicion of another state.
Currently, the solution imposed by de facto authority is the “one-state solution”, that is, Israel, and if the Palestinians and their supporters say that they do not recognize this state in this particular form, then it is legitimate, that is, not recognizing states that make the enjoyment of rights exclusive to a particular ethnic group and religion, and this What is happening in Israel, so why should people be forced to recognize this state unconditionally?
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Aren’t you afraid of any negative effects after tearing up your passport?
I took the step because I was born in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, which made it mandatory to recognize Israel for citizenship. What the Christian Party wants to do now is to pass a law that would allow German citizens to be stripped of their citizenship due to refusal to recognize Israel (if they hold another nationality), which could also lead to deportation.
It shows not only the anti-democratic character, but also the racist character of the law, because the people who will be deported will be non-Europeans, and this project is not only limited to prohibiting the naturalization of people, but also concerns the withdrawal of citizenship, followed by deportation.
In general, this is not new. Under the Nazi regime, individuals from the left, communists, and opponents were deported, and later they began transferring them to camps with Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and the disabled. As a leftist and a German communist, the proposal to remove citizenship scares me greatly.
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Returning to your path, how did you begin to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian cause?
I was born into a left-wing liberal family, and my first political memory was watching fascist demonstrations in the streets. I found them frightening, so I decided to oppose them. In a state where there are a number of Nazis, where it is normal to hear racist and anti-Semitic jokes everywhere, it made me decide to fight against fascism.
Then I moved to Berlin when I was 14 years old, and I joined a group for the international struggle against forms of oppression in the world. I got to know Palestinians, Kurds, and many groups suffering from restrictions, but I decided to focus on supporting the Palestinians within the communist “Workers Power” group, because I found that the groups find many who support them, while solidarity with Palestine is considered controversial in Germany.
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But was it easy for you to stand in solidarity with Palestine in a country where the Palestinian voice is restricted, whether in the media, parties or schools, and where the Israeli narrative prevails?
No, of course it was not easy at all in many ways. I and many of my comrades were slandered and labeled anti-Semites, which had political consequences, as we were excluded from many political activities.
It is noticeable that even some types of the left, such as the group known as “Anti Deutsch,” reject us, and refuse to have activists from the Middle East participate with them in their activities. I am also certain that there is some danger to my life and my financial income because of my struggle, but I decided to continue and raise my voice.
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I referred to the “Ante-Deutsch” group (in the term, anti-Germans), which is a radical leftist group of young people that supports Israel and rejects German positions. It represents part of the global “anti-fascist” movement, but it is the only one in the world that has taken this position. Does this confirm Germany’s uniqueness?
I don’t think they are anti-Germany at all, because they actually support German foreign policy on all major issues.
This group supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also celebrate the Israeli settlement occupation and support American imperialism. It is a shame that these people are considered leftists, because they have done so much harm to the German leftists, but I am glad that their numbers are beginning to decline.
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But the German parties are almost unanimous in supporting Israel. Indeed, the Green Party, unlike a number of left-wing environmental parties in Europe and the world that criticize Israeli policies, strongly supports it, and Annalena Baerbock, a leader within it and currently Minister of Foreign Affairs, even rejects the ceasefire?
There are several parties in Germany affiliated with the left, although their positions do not reflect the truth of the left, including the Social Democratic Party (the party of current Chancellor Olaf Scholz).
The German Green Party has been no longer leftist in the true sense for some time. It supported the war in Afghanistan, supported sending German forces to Iraq, and supported the war in Kosovo. These parties also implemented policies that undermine the rights of German society through what were called “reform programs.”
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Based on your own experience, how do you see German interest in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? Do their opinions differ from politicians and the media?
People, as you know, are not a homogeneous mass, but in general Germans believe that they are enlightened and critical, but this is not true in this matter.
Most people here do not know anything about Palestine or Israel, and are only interested in news during times of war. They form their opinions based on what the media reports. They also do not go back to the origin of the conflict, linking it to the Hamas attack and the Israeli response to it.
They do not know the reality of the Nakba, nor the reality of Palestinian refugees, nor the reality of the detention of thousands of them in Israeli prisons.
The German media contributes to this matter, as it practices war propaganda that supports only one side, which is the Israeli army. Ignorance is also widespread even within the German media, as there are journalists and elites who do not want to educate themselves on this topic.
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Isn’t the matter different for German youth who are connected to social media platforms and the Internet, and are more able to read in English?
Yes, there is a new young generation in the major cities that has a very international character and is exposed to experiences from different parts of the world, especially with immigrants, and this generation participates in the demonstrations in Germany. But things are changing slowly, and it must be said that the number of white Germans in these demonstrations in support of Palestine is still much lower than what we see compared to the population of other Western or non-Western countries, and I think this is also due to the history of Germans with the Holocaust.
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In Germany there is the term “German collective guilt” (Kollektivschuld) which refers to this peculiarity. How do you see that?
We must take the Holocaust seriously, and protect Jewish life. There is no doubt about that, but we must not forget that the first people to call for this matter were the youth of the leftist student movement in the sixties, but what is happening to the state is an attempt to get rid of the guilt complex towards supporting Zionism. .
Thus, the discourse of anti-Semitism has become a purely white German discourse, and politicians have begun to say that anti-Semitism is imported, meaning that it is committed by immigrants, and this is a very dangerous matter that puts the lives of immigrants at risk, as well as the lives of Jews, since it is a discourse that reduces the danger of “white” German anti-Semitism, which It comes from people who are also hostile to Arabs, Muslims, and refugees.